The Awami League will sit with the Election Commission only once on Sept 9, to press home its demands for lifting emergency, holding parliamentary polls ahead of any other and repealing the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Ordinance.

AP, NEW YORK -- Oil prices kept falling Wednesday as a stronger dollar and slowing demand for crude overshadowed an almost total shutdown of energy output in the Gulf of Mexico after the passage of Hurricane Gustav.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.05 to $108.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier dipping as low as $107.22.

Dhaka, Sept 2 (bdnews24.com) — Brigadier general Zakir Hasan, inspector general of prisons, has told bdnews24.com all necessary papers for executing the release of Tarique Rahman have reached his office.

"We are now only awaiting the remainder document only, which may be sent to us any time today (Tuesday). It is possible that Tarique Rahman will be released today provided the last bit of paper work is complete and it reaches us," Gen Hasan said Tuesday morning.

Dhaka, Sept 2 (bdnews24.com) — Tarique Rahman's wife Zobaida Rahman and other visitors left his bedside at BSMMU Hospital around 8pm Tuesday, signalling that the detained BNP leader would not be released on bail before Wednesday.

Inspector general of prisons, Brigadier general Zakir Hasan had said ealrier in the evening that detainees are not normally released if their papers are not processed by 6pm.

AP, TOKYO -- Sales are improving in Japan for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable handheld video game machine, and a beefed up version with a clearer display is expected to add momentum, a senior executive said Tuesday.

The portable game machine faces tough competition from Nintendo DS -- the handheld machine from the Japanese manufacturer of Pokemon and Super Mario games.

REUTERS, TALEGAON, India- General Motors Corp's most important priority is to turn around its North American business and it will continue investments in emerging markets, its chief operating officer said on Tuesday.

"The most important thing we can do is to turn around the North American business," Fritz Henderson told reporters after inaugurating the US carmaker's second plant in India, located in the western Maharashtra state, with an annual capacity of 140,000 units.

The partially rebuilt levees in New Orleans have held against hurricane Gustav, but authorities today warned of more storms to come after the weather system weakened and veered to the west of the city.

Dramatic television footage showed waves being forced by 110mph winds over the tops of the flood defences on the west side of the city, just like Katrina in 2005.

Dalits, the untouchables at the bottom of Hindu caste system, are the last to be rescued and are getting the smallest rations in the aftermath of the floods in north India, say aid agencies working in the inundated villages, reports The Guardian.

The lowest castes, who generally eke out a living on the fringes of Indian society, are said to be suffering "relief discrimination". Hundreds of thousands of people are huddling in relief camps after the Kosi river changed course in Bihar and swamped hundreds of square miles.

Thailand's army chief said today he would refrain from using force to break up anti-government protests, despite the state of emergency declared hours after one demonstrator was killed and dozens injured in violent clashes.

General Anupong Paojinda said he had decided on a softly-softly approach, fearing that hardline measures would create greater problems.

AP, HONG KONG -- Stocks fell around the world Monday, led by Asian exchanges as concerns about a slowing global economy weighed heavily on the markets. Oil prices declined sharply as Hurricane Gustav weakened, but investors were still waiting to see how much damage the storm might do to Gulf Coast oil operations.

The wholesale and retail traders in the city were caught ducking blames on Tuesday for the soaring prices of essential commodities.

They traded accusations when a delegation of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry led by president Annisul Huq had been out on a spot visit to monitor prices on the first day of Ramadan.